Overview

Poisoning is injury or death due to swallowing, inhaling, touching or injecting various drugs, chemicals, venoms or gases. Many substances — such as drugs and carbon monoxide — are poisonous only in higher concentrations or dosages. Certain types of cleaners are only harmful if ingested, while others also emit toxic gases/fumes. Children are particularly sensitive to even small amounts of certain drugs and chemicals.

How you treat someone who may have been poisoned depends on:

• The person’s symptoms
• The person’s age
• Whether you know the type and amount of the substance that caused poisoning